As the staff and volunteers gathered to prepare for Eggciting Easter at Wesley Youth Centre (WYC) early in the morning on 1 April, dark clouds loomed in the skies above. We could not help but pray that the rain would not douse the excitement of the children and youths, and that the heavy rain will not make the trip down to the centre a fool’s errand; we prayed for His will to be done.
Our prayers were answered when the rain stopped just before the event started, and we welcomed a total of 28 children from ages five to 14. After ice-breakers to get the kids warmed up, our very own WYC Chairperson, Ms Doreen Soh, held a storytelling session that told of life’s difficulties as well as a simple introduction to Good Friday and Easter Sunday . After the session, many questions were raised to the staff and volunteers about certain words and meanings, and we answered them as best as we could to provide clarity.
When we broke into different groups for craft work, the children were able to better express themselves through the painting of plastic eggs. They drew what they were interested in or loved, and some of them even wrote down the names of their favourite football teams and K-Pop artistes. During this time, volunteers took the chance to talk to them and got to know them better, sharing common interests, which of course, included the K-Pop groups they supported.
After they completed their beautiful works of art, the youths and children then proceeded on to the classic ‘Easter egg hunt’. Staff and volunteers had hidden small foam eggs beforehand all around the space between the two blocks where the event was held. Laughter and excitement filled the air as the participants went around in groups, scouring high and low for the hidden eggs. Staff and volunteers would drop hints from time to time when the children were near where the eggs were hidden, and some of us even gave out a couple of eggs to the children who did not manage to find as many eggs as the others. This resulted in a mob of children around us, akin to hungry baby chicks crying out for food—it was truly a comical sight!
After the Easter egg hunt, participants enthusiastically exchanged the fruits of their labour for big and small chocolate eggs. After which, we had a second storytelling session: Doreen shared about our Lord Jesus Christ entering the gates of Jerusalem on a donkey, where people waved palm leaves and shouted “Hosanna!” to welcome Him. At that point, we distributed palm leaves to the children and youths and did a re-enactment of the scene. To see all the children and youths doing that was truly a sight to behold!
Following the second storytelling session, Doreen touched on the key topic of the day: God knew each and every one of them. She brought this point across by first showing the kids pictures of famous football stars and K-pop artistes, asking if the kids knew who they were, to which they replied with a resounding “Yes”. She then followed up with a question of whether or not these people knew the kids, to which there was a resounding, “No”. Next was a picture of Jesus as per the books illustrations, and she asked if they knew who this person was, before telling them that Jesus Christ knows each of them by name.
At that point, Doreen read out each kid’s name, and the staff and volunteers gave a card to the child or youth with the words, “Jesus Knows Me”. After every name was called, we ended the event with a prayer and a simple survey to see if the children and youths were interested in finding out more about who Jesus is. The staff and volunteers were very encouraged that 15 kids expressed their interest.
We were all deeply touched when some children asked more about the story of Jesus’s crucifixion after the event ended, and some even asked about the meaning of Jesus’s crucifixion and why He was crucified even though He did nothing wrong. We can only pray that as the seeds have been planted, they will fall on fertile soil for God to grow as they find their way to Him!
Read also: Intergenerational Praise and Rejoicing on Easter Sunday
Find out how to volunteer with Wesley Youth Centre (WYC) here.
